


The Letter

by EvilLittleImp



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, War Letter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25901239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilLittleImp/pseuds/EvilLittleImp
Summary: Belle receives a letter from the army. That must mean her husband is either missing or dead. Can she open it?
Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Kudos: 13





	The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a big fan of RumBelle, but I wanted to have a story for them. When Belle's not playing the perfect, innocent victim in the relationship, it can be adorable. Enjoy!

The Letter  
Belle moved over to it. It was just there on the counter. Her husband, her wonderful husband, could be in trouble, he could be dead. He had gone off to war, to protect her and their daughter. He had said he’d be back and the world would be safer for both of them. But it was right there, mocking her. She knew exactly what it was. The letter sat, unopened, on the counter. She didn’t know what she would if he was dead. She would still have to be there for their daughter, Rose, but she didn’t know if she could do it. Belle sat in front of the letter and just stared at it. Maybe if she glared at it enough, it would go away. It didn’t, just sat there. He might be missing. It was bad, but better. The curiosity and desperation warred in her mind. This couldn’t happen, it just couldn’t. Rose needed her father. Belle needed him. He promised he would be back, and Robert Gold never broke his word. He had to be back, he just had to. She was suddenly angry that he went off to fight. He could have stayed home, safe. He had nothing to prove to her, she knew he wasn’t a coward. Belle knew he was a good man, he didn’t need to do this. It was wrong of him to do this when he had little Rose to worry about. Their daughter didn’t understand the full weight of what was happening, didn’t understand that her daddy might not come back. Belle was thankful for that, but it was also hard. What would she tell her daughter if that letter said Robert wasn’t coming back? What would she do if it said her husband was gone? If death did them apart sooner than it was supposed to? She knew he would wait for her in whatever world came after this one. That, at the moment, was her only comfort. Belle’s mother had always told her “do the brave thing, and bravery will follow”, but this was different entirely. How was she supposed to cope with whatever that letter said? If she couldn’t, what would happen to Rose? How could any mother ever explain to their child why their father wasn’t coming home. Saying he died a hero would do nothing. People always thought that made it better, but she didn’t need that. She didn’t want Robert to be a hero, she wanted him to be alive. Nothing could be done about the fact the letter was in front of her. She looked at the letter once more. If she didn’t open it, he was still alive. Or at least, he could be, right? She got up and walked away. She tried to stay away from it for as long as possible, but she found herself drawn back to it again. She finally gave in and picked up the letter. With trembling hands, she opened it and unfolded the paper. Tears streamed down her face quickly as a quiet sob racked her frame. She couldn’t keep the emotion in so she just cried. When she looked back at the letter, it was covered in wet tear stains. She just kept crying.  
He was coming home from deployment.

Belle & Rumplestiltskin  
-S Hanson

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, I was going to make this one rather depressing, or have her not open the letter, but I just thought it would be better this way. Tell me what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
